Sunday, April 12, 2015

Rookie Bradley bests Kershaw, Dodgers in debut

Saturday was a night to remember for D-backs' rookie Archie Bradley. It was an evening reigning Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw would like to forget.

Together, the two power pitchers put on a show at Chase Field, but it was Bradley and the D-backs who walked off the field with a 6-0 victory in the second game of the three-game series between the teams.

Kershaw struck out five, but was charged with 10 hits and six runs, five of them earned, in 6 1/3 innings. D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to extend the D-backs' lead to 6-0 and mark the end of Kershaw's night. More >

"I'm sure they didn't hit great pitches," said Kershaw. "I'm sure I missed some spots and left balls up. I just made a lot of mistakes."

Bradley struck out six in his Major League debut.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDStarting with a bang: Bradley struck out six in six scoreless innings in his memorable Major League debut. The right-hander walked four batters during the 112-pitch outing, keeping the Dodgers' hitters off balance with a steady stream of fastballs and breaking balls. More >

Miscommunication: New Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick broke toward second base for an anticipated pick-off throw in the first inning, but Kershaw delivered to the plate and Mark Trumbo hit the pitch into the hole vacated by Kendrick for a first-inning RBI single. Kershaw then struck outAaron Hill and Chris Owings to minimize the damage.

Too much Gold: Goldschmidt has six home runs and 17 RBIs in 16 games against the Dodgers since the start of 2014. He was 4-for-9 against Kershaw last year.

Center of attention: D-backs center fielder A.J. Pollock was in the middle of the action all game Saturday. He led off the first and third innings with singles and he scored both times. He hit another single in the fourth inning, driving in shortstop Owings to extend Arizona's lead to 3-0. Pollock finished 3-for-3.

QUOTABLE"I was trying to hold it in. I saw people standing up and I heard people starting to cheer real loud. When I got into the dugout, everyone was kind of right there, and that's when it hit me and I let out a little smile and I was like 'All right, this is pretty cool.'"-- Bradley on his standing ovation

"Basically, I got blasted today. I don't know what else to say."-- Kershaw on his outing

"Juan had two hamstrings last year. We'd like to stay away from that."-- Manager Don Mattingly in pregame explanation why Juan Uribe wasn't starting, only for Uribe to enter the game and suffer a hamstring injury after replacing the injured Justin TurnerMore >

REPLAY REVIEWIn the seventh inning, Dodgers third baseman Alex Guerrero was called safe at first base on a ground ball to D-backs second baseman Owings.The D-backs challenged the call. It was overturned after the review with Guerrero called out on the play.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDSAccording to STATS LLC, Bradley Is the first starting pitcher to notch his first hit before allowing a hit in his Major League debut since the Cardinals' Marco Gonzales accomplished the feat on June 25, 2014, against Colorado.

Bradley isn't the first rookie hurler to face the previous year's Cy Young winner in his MLB debut. Four others have done it since 2003, and three of them came out with a win. More >

WHAT'S NEXTDodgers:Zack Greinke gets his second start of the year. He was 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA in four starts against Arizona last year. Yasiel Puig is expected to return to the lineup. More >

D-backs:Josh Collmenter returns to the mound after giving up four runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Giants in first the Opening Day start of his career. The right-hander is 4-7 with a 5.66 ERA in 15 games/seven starts against the Dodgers in his career.